Late night nuisance

While still wondering what to do and what this means, I put off the light and remained on bed in the darkness. In a few minutes Tahir came back. Still opening and closing the door behind him gently, he now strode towards the bed and sat next to me. ‘Bint, Bint’ he said trying to […]

While still wondering what to do and what this means, I put off the light and remained on bed in the darkness. In a few minutes Tahir came back. Still opening and closing the door behind him gently, he now strode towards the bed and sat next to me. ‘Bint, Bint’ he said trying to wake me up because he thought I was still sleeping. ‘Wake up I think we have visitors tonight.’

‘Visitors?’ I asked sounding as I had just woken up. ‘What kind of visitors at this late hour?’

‘The worst possible kind I think. In fact what amazed me was how comfortably they were conversing. I was woken up by the sound of voices, then I went out of this room, tip-toed down the stairs but the voices were only getting louder, more confident. There was no sign that the speakers didn’t want to be heard. I wondered what happened to the guards. I have come back to try one or two police numbers. What is obvious is that they’ve not been able to break in yet. They are still outside. The voices were coming from the veranda.’ He explained.

‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un’, I said sitting up. ‘What do we do now? I mean if they were to break in now, we don’t even have a gun.’

‘That’s why I have to try the police fast in case they break in, we can at least be sure of help before they go too far.’ He said rising from the bed to walk to his side of the room.

‘Let me check up the children and may be lock up their room so that whatever happens the thieves can’t get access to them.’ I suggested, rising up. The moment I opened his room door, I walked towards the window that overlooks the guards’ post. Lo and behold the light was on and one of the guards was casually moving about. Are we really under an impending invasion by thieves or robbers when this guard is moving around with such ease? I wondered. Turning back l went into Tahir’s bedroom and quickly said to him ‘Don’t call the police, call the guards’ post because one of them is in the room. I saw him from the window moving unhurriedly’.

‘Really?’ Tahir asked with surprise ‘the police number is already ringing. But let’s try the guards post first.’ When the guard picked it after a few seconds Tahir asked whether all was alright with them. The guard answered that all was fine. ‘Then whose are those voices I can hear from the veranda?’ he asked. ‘It’s my colleague making free calls’ the guard answered. ‘Tell him to put off that phone, he is disturbing our sleep.’ Tahir ordered with obvious relief.

‘Wow,  that was close.’ I said as soon as he put down the phone. ‘Do you know that I have been praying Ayatul kursiyyu so hard since you mentioned your fears that I’m not even sure I was reciting it correctly? I have never been so scared in my life.’

‘I’ve never been so scared too’ he replied stroking my hair where my head lay on his shoulder. ‘Like I mentioned earlier, I was scared more by the confident way the voice was rising. There was no fear of being caught, so it brought to my mind the image of hardened, well-armed criminals who fear no one.’

‘Someone should tell these GSM operators to stop this free night call before they cause all Nigerian adults heart attacks.’ I observed.

‘They are promoting their wares and laughing all the way to the banks in the process, who can stop them because they gave you the scariest night of your life.’ He joked.

‘But at what cost? Do you remember the story I told you about how Asabe walked in on her daughter receiving a late free call and had the shock of her life when she heard what the young lady was saying to her boy classmate? Well recently Maryam’s cook sleeps endlessly on the job or sometimes he will put something on fire and then go to the boy’s quarters to sleep. After a number of burnt meals Maryam decided to take him to hospital, believing that he had contacted sleeping sickness or something of that sort. She was saved the trouble when the driver who shares a room with the cook came to report that very night the cook spends hours making or receiving free calls, thereby denying the rest of them the chance to sleep in peace.

And at the office the other day, my colleague Sadiqa also complained about her two house girls growing really insolent. Whenever she assigns them a task, they act as if the world was ending. When she scolds them over it they began to act rudely. Then at the slightest excuse they will both run to their room and sleep. And these were girls she sends to bed at 10pm believing that they needed to rest well. One day she was making her way to the kitchen to pick water late at night when she heard voices and laughter from their room. She tiptoed to the room and saw the two girls, each busy on phone chatting and laughing with others outside. Of course she confiscated the phones and went her way. So you see why we need to put a stop to all this? It isn’t natural for people to remain awake at night. It affects their normal life, it hampers their productivity and we all end up paying for it.’ I argued.

‘Well you’ve got a good point there darling Bint and for that reason I’ll give you a way out. Write to the consumer protection council and narrate all the menace that accompanies this GSM free call business. Explain all the disadvantages and urge them to give no more than an hour a night or cancel it all together. Copy the national assembly and some national dailies and wait to see what that could achieve. If it doesn’t do the trick, then mobilise all victims of this late night nuisance for a protest at the national assembly. I, for one, will never want to repeat a night like tonight, so you can count on my attendance at that protest. So many things are allowed to happen only because we are tolerating them. If we stand up for our rights, these telecoms companies will respect our needs and attend to them.’ Tahir encouraged.

‘Well-said my Romeo, I will certainly write to the council first thing tomorrow. For now we’ve got a night rest to catch up on.’ I answered.